Sawyer wins AJGA Championship at GCC

Tuesday

Nicholas Sawyer wasn’t happy with his second-round performance at the 2018 Alabama Junior Golf Association Junior Open Championship, but it was enough to win the boys' 16-19 division.

Sawyer of Centre shot par-71 to finish with a 141 overall at the Gadsden Country Club. Jackson Bowman of Gadsden shot a 3-under par 68 to tie Sawyer, but the Centre native won a playoff on hole No. 10.

“It’s exciting,” Sawyer said of the win, “but I’m a bit disappointed in my play. … I had three three-putts, but I had some good quality shots today.”

With the win, Sawyer became the state qualifier for the 2019 40th North & South Junior Amateur Championship, one of the nation’s most prestigious junior tournaments, in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

“It just shows me I’m one of the best players in the state; I think I am,” Sawyer said. “A lot of people don’t know my name yet, but it gets me out there.”

Bowman was happy with his play on the front nine but said he didn’t finish as well as he would’ve liked.

“I was 3-under on the front nine so that was good,” Bowman said. “Then the back nine was just even. I had a few three-putts on the back.”

Matthew Madden of Northport finished third with a two-day total of 142. Cameron Spehar of Hartselle (144) and Brock McNeely of Glencoe (148) rounded out the top five.

Marilyn Steed of Birmingham finished first in the girls’ 15-19 division with a 153. Hannah Pope of Florence (156) and Ashley-Sinclair Curtis (162) finished second and third.

Jones Free of Selma won the boys’ 14-15 division with a 145. Adam Kilpatrick of Andalusia finished runner-up with a 151. Austin Ingram of Mentone (153) finished third and Michael Rich of Southside (160) placed fourth.

Jinger Heath of Decatur finished first in the girls’ 14-and-under division with a 171. Christine Chang of Auburn (178) was second and Ella Howard of Gadsden (182) finished third.